Forever Cool

Last fall, Californians were warned by “the experts” to prepare for El Nino. We were told where to get our sandbags, how to prepare an emergency kit – which most Californians have anyway, and to make sure we had alternate escape routes planned – just in case. Time to build an ark!

Well, the rain finally came.

The reservoirs are full, the Sierras have snow, surfs been up, and the hills are green. Everybody’s happy even though the rain stopped several weeks ago.

The other day, while watching the weather report, the presenter told us “Even though it looks like a storm front is headed our way, don’t expect rain because it was a “dry storm.” Huh?

Who knew a storm could be dry?

Anyway, the “dry storms” have brought us daytime temperatures in the high 80’s, Santana winds are beginning to blow and I’m getting shocked by static electricity every time I touch metal.

It looks like El Nino has left town and the “experts” have just told us to get ready for “La Nina.”

Can You Hear Me Now?
If you believe the global media, Cuba is a crumbling communist regime with sunny beaches, wonderful music and poor, but happy people.

They never mention that Cuba has some big time Signal Intelligence facilities all over the island. The Russians built the spy bases, which uses Chinese satellites to intercept telephone communications in the US. They can do more than listen, though. They have the ability to interfere with computer networks, change electronic files and, more importantly, change output commands of computers used to control infrastructure facilities.

The state-of-the-art signals intelligence post in Bejucal, just west of Havana, includes a large array of satellite dishes and antennas spread over about 28 square miles – all just a little more than 90 miles from the Florida coast.

In the mid 90’s, as the Russians were constructing the facility, the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, was telling President Bill Clinton that he was committed to democracy and the free market, and friendship with the United States. Yes, the same Boris Yeltsin who got so drunk during a presidential visit with the Clintons in Washington, he was found standing outside the White House in his underpants, trying to hail a taxi so he could go out for a pizza. I’m still trying to erase that image from my mind.

The big question is, if President Obama can successfully open trade negotiations with Cuba, will he let them take over Guantanamo? The U.S. has operated a base there since 1915. It might be a good idea to stay there to monitor what Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are listening to.

Switzerland – Let’s be Franc
A country with a population equal to the city of New York, Switzerland is best known for its beauty, its cheese and it’s banks.

For hundreds of years the Swiss were also known for their sound banking system and strong government policies which kept the people employed and safe.

Alas, that all changed with the global financial crisis in 2008. The Swiss Franc was too strong against the rest of the global currencies – namely the euro, so the banks began printing money.

In just a few short years the equity ratio (collateral) held by Swiss banks went from 20% to less than 3% and the Swiss aligned themselves with a bunch bat-shit crazy European bankers. See: Christine Lagarde.

But wait, there’s still hope! With a new “gold referendum” on the November ballot, the Swiss have the chance to, once again, require their paper currency to be backed by at least 20% gold. Purchasing power would be stabilized and the bankers wouldn’t be able to control and manipulate monetary policy. The world will be watching on November 30th.

All roads lead to Damascus
While the U.S., Britain and France have been sending soldiers and contractors to the middle east to fight terrorists, multinational contractors and Wall Street bankers have gained a foothold in the war-torn lands and have begun building highways, railways, logistics centers, manufacturing facilities, new towns and gas and oil pipelines under the auspices of the “war on terror.”

During her time as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton negotiated deals all over the world representing the multinationals and the “too big to fail” banks who are using U.S. tax dollars to build infrastructure tied to China’s mega-plan for the “New Silk Road.”

Who Owns It?
An English photographer named David Slater was on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi taking photos of a crested black macaques. Just like children, the macaques were posing for the camera when one of them accidentally pressed the shutter button. Intrigued by the sound, the monkey kept pressing it. Voila! A collection of macaque selfless!

The photos were posted on websites and TV shows all over the world. Now here comes the tricky part. One of Wikimedia Commons employees saw the photos and added them to the websites royalty-free image collection.

Because of the popularity of the photos, Slater wanted to copyright the images so he could get paid for their future use. When the photographer contacted Wikimedia to remove the images they refused stating that Slater didn’t take the photos, the monkey did, and only humans can own a copyright.

According the The Telegraph, Mr. Slater now faces and estimated £10,000 legal bill to take the matter to court. Should the matter go to court? No. Will Wikimedia do the right thing by honoring the request of the owner of the photographs? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Super Duper Moon
On August 10 we will have the second of three super moons this year. This perigee moon will appear larger than than the other two because it becomes full during the same hour as perigee.

From NASA:
According to Geoff Chester of the US Naval Observatory, “The ‘Moon Illusion’ is probably what will make people remember this coming set of Full Moons, more than the actual view of the Moon itself,” he says.

The illusion occurs when the Moon is near the horizon. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects. When the Moon illusion amplifies a perigee Moon, the swollen orb rising in the east at sunset can seem super indeed.

“I guarantee that some folks will think it’s the biggest Moon they’ve ever seen if they catch it rising over a distant horizon, because the media will have told them to pay attention to this particular one,” says Chester.

The Global Warming Party Ship Stuck in Antarctic Ice
Australia’s media-loving climate scientist, Professor Chris Turney, along with 73 others including the crew, 4 journalists, 36 members of the science team and 26 tourists, are sitting on the Russian vessel, the MS Akademik Shokalskiy, stuck in the ice near the South Pole.

Professor Turney’s plan was to re-create the 3 year exploration led by Sir Douglas Mawson in 1911 and to measure changes in ice and climate since that time.

Unfortunately, someone didn’t check the weather reports. The Akademik Shokalskiy is now in a dangerous situation and the attempts by 3 ice breakers and a helicopter to rescue the people on board the vessel have failed. If another helicopter rescue attempt cannot be made because of the high wind and low visibility, the US Coast Guard Polar-class icebreaker, Polar Star, will we directed to the area.

So why was this underfunded and poorly planned expedition attempted anyway? Well, it seems the 38-year-old entrepeneur/scientist wanted to prove global warming is melting the Antarctic ice. It would tie in perfectly with a new book and could be used to promote his carbon business.

News reports failed to mention Turney is a founding Director of Carbonscape, a New Zealand carbon refining company that offers a global solution for mitigating the effects of human-caused climate change.

According to Carbonscape co-founder Nick Gerritsen, the company has the patent on the one-step microwave charcoal technology that turns biomass waste such as sawdust into what is known as activated carbon (AC). Sawdust or corn or sugar cane can be turned into bio oils, which become biochemicals and fuels. There is plenty of money from governments and private corporations looking to fund alternatives to fossil fuels.

If the good professor had checked any of NASA’s weather and climate data he would have known that for the second year in a row the ice surrounding Antarctica reached its annual winter maximum at the end of September and set a new record. Oops.